AUGUST 12 • 2021 | 21

that directly benefit and sup-
port underserved community 
members, such as those with 
development disabilities, 
autism or mental illness. 
Deeper investments in areas 
of clinical services and com-
pliance will allow for more 
data-based decision making 
and impact measurement, all 
exponentially enhancing out-
comes for people served and 
the community at large. 
The merger will ensure 
long-term sustainability of 
vital services for individu-
als who need them, while 
positioning the agency for 
success in the everchanging 
landscape of public mental 
health service funding.
“This merger is vital 
because it will strengthen 
our operations, allow us 
to provide more impactful 
services and enable our new 
organization to thrive for 
many years to come,” said 
Adelman. “By improving ser-
vices for the people we serve 

today and ensuring the sus-
tainability of those services 
for decades to come, we con-
tinue to realize our founders’ 
goals of meeting the needs 
of vulnerable people in our 
community.”
The two agencies offer 
dozens of services, including 
career counseling and job 
placement for job seekers 
with obstacles to employ-
ment, supportive housing for 
individuals with severe men-
tal illness, financial educa-
tion, day programs for adults 
living with developmental 
disabilities and/or mental ill-
ness, counseling for families 
in crisis, assistance and sup-
port coordination for adults 
living with mental health 
challenges, enrichment activ-
ities and more.
There are no plans for 
reducing programs; in fact, it 
is expected that the merger 
will allow for programs to 
be upgraded, updated and 
strengthened. 

registration fee includes 
a ride T-shirt and drink 
voucher.
Last year, the live ride had 
to be canceled. There was no 
official event, as Federation 
simply encouraged people to 
take part in their own ride 
and to donate whatever they 
wanted to the JCC Krakow if 
they were able to do so. 
Bracha Katz, 
administrative assistant 
at the Israel & Overseas 
Department of Federation, 
thinks people are excited to 
get back to riding. 
“A lot of them are big 
bikers and they do this every 
year, so it’s a good event for 
riders to get out, get back 
to normal and be able to 
have some fun once again, 
because it’s been a while for 
a lot of people,” Katz said.
Katz hopes the ride can 

bring some awareness to 
the Jewish community in 
Krakow as well as provide 
fun for the riders. 
“It’s not a sad ride. It’s a 
lot of joy and hope, that’s 
why it’s called ‘Ride for the 
Living,’” Katz said referring 
to the main Auschwitz to 
Krakow ride and its local 
counterpart. “It’s sort of 
showing people, ‘yes, that 
happened to us right here 
and it was really sad — but 
look at us, we’re a vibrant 
community and we’re still 
here, and we’re going to ride 
our bikes from this place of 
tragedy to the center of the 
Jewish community.’
“It’s just a really beautiful 
sentiment.” 

Registration for the ride, which 

costs $36, can be done at jlive.app/

events/523. 

E

very family has a cher-
ished story, sometimes 
many stories, but over 
time, memories fade and some-
times storytellers are no longer 
available. Rebecca Rosen’s 
parents and grandparents were 
doing genealogy research and 
trying to figure out how to 
document their family stories.
Her father, Marc Rosen, 
Ph.D., a psychologist, 
had taken notes from 
conversations with his 
in-laws, Janet Halper, 85, 
about her life, and recorded 
interviews with, Allen Halper, 
87. The Halpers live in West 
Bloomfield. 
“Both are great storytellers,” 
says Rebecca Rosen, 26, a 
data scientist for a nonprofit 
organization in New York City, 
who has been living in Ann 
Arbor. But written notes and 
recorded conversations are not 
a very accessible or permanent 
record.
Then she thought of Kira 
Appelman, a Detroit-based 
artist. “Kira makes beautiful 
books and is an incredible 
artist and illustrator. She had 
been working with storytelling 
for a Jewish program and had 

done some art books about 
notable artists’ and writers’ 
lives,” Rosen said. So, she 
commissioned Appelman to 
create individual graphic books 
depicting her grandparents’ life 
stories.
The end result was a digital 
novel about her grandfather, 
a retired educator, who also 
received a physical copy 
of his digital book. Her 
grandmother’s story was 
translated into “more of an art 
book.” Rosen said. 
Since she had not told 
them of her plans, they were 
both surprised and delighted 
to receive their books. “My 
grandpa cried,” she says. 

Custom graphic books document 
grandparents’ stories.

Family Legacy

SHARI S. COHEN 
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Cover of
Appelman’s graphic novel

Janet Halper, 
Rebecca Rosen 
and Allen Halper

grandparents’ stories.

Cover of
Appelman’s graphic novel

